★★★★★ 0/5

homeMADE

Can Nine's new renovation series from the creators of The Block ever hope to match the glory of its predecessor?

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homemade2For all the renovation formats that have come and gone, 2003’s The Block still sits at the top of the pile.

The David Barbour and Julian Cress-devised series regularly topped the two million market week after week. More so, it became a ‘watercooler’ show, generating real buzz, thanks considerably to its astute soapie tone. Since that time we’ve copped every reno-variation inside and out on free to air and subscription television.

Now Cress and Barbour have a ‘love-child’ show of sorts, in homeMADE. However you look at it, a reno-show is still  a reno-show. But clearly people love to see a “before / after” transition so the trick is to come up with a point of difference and cast successfully.

homeMADE divides ten emerging designers, mostly young, mostly hot and mostly Anglo, into two teams of five to makeover adjacent houses. Each team has $50,000 and a support team of builders, plumbers and painters as each team member is given one room to completely re-design in 5 days. The residents of the homes become clients, and while the renovations are underway have to pitch a tent in the backyard. No hotel weekends here, and even if its a budgetary shortcut, dramatically it works perfectly well.

Unlike The Block, which saw four apartments renovated over the duration of the series, homeMADE is renovation on steroids. Under pressure cooker conditions tempers flare and cliches are dropped. The clock is ticking, the budget is shrinking, the clients are nervous and the teams have to resist imploding.

Host for the show is design expert David Heimann, who also serves as mentor. Unlike the dashing worker in Jamie Durie, Heimann remains spotless here, commenting from arms-length distance from the safety of a contemporary abode. Many of his points explain the bleedingly obvious -he is better on location inspecting finished results and giving advice. Dressed immaculately, Heimann is even chauffer-driven to the homes.

In the second (and better) episode on Tuesday, three judges will send one of the team home. Reality television without elimination? Not gonna happen.

There’s also a voice over narration, making this show very top heavy in its storytelling.

Product placement is also abundant in homeMADE, with brands and suppliers frequently named and captured on film. No subtlety there.

It would be interesting to know if the completed houses were aesthetically complementary for the families living in them, or whether the end result was a home with five rooms all competing to outdo one another.

In a crowded genre, this is is a format that borrows a bit from everywhere even if it does so with confidence. Time will tell whether names like Richie, Stacey, Chontelle, and Annie can resonate as memorably as Gav and Waz or Phil and Amity. And for that matter whether David can come close to Jamie.

35_starshomeMADE airs 6:30pm Sunday and 7:30pm Tuesday on Nine.

51 Responses

  1. Love it – so want to know what the pebble product was that went on the kitchen floor – where can I get that ????? Please come and do over my home 🙂

  2. Not a bad show…. But it would be good to see the breakdown of costs on the Home Made Website…. They must be getting good mates rates from the furniture outlets and tradies thats for sure…. Come on channel nine at least make it a bit realistic.

  4. I watched ep2 tonight and there were a few things that jumped out at me. The confused attempt at an ob doc-style voiceover that only appeared a few times in the show when they obviously lacked coverage doesn’t work but I guess in the end they’ve been told to shed 30min of content (previously slated as 5 x 30min as opposed to 2 x 60min) so I guess they can be forgiven early on in the run. And the few frames of blurred vision at the top of a shot, mostly around the elimination ….I don’t even know why it’s there, it’s just annoying to watch, it doesn’t make the show seem any more spontaneous or tense or edgy or clever, either the editors are making the camera guys look bad or the camera guys need a kick in the arse to stay in focus.

    ps I like this show, I think it deserves better ratings than it’s gotten so far.

  8. I’m glad it flopped and that my predictions of 1.6 mill were way off, although I am honestly surprised Nine’s core bogan audience didn’t lap it up like they did with Ladette, 20 to 1, Domestic Blitz and their usual range of crap. I hope it gets axed so that Nine can attempt to think up something truly original

  9. it’s a bit like big brother with the contestants and all
    the contestants do act like big brother contestants. sort of. or is it just me

  10. I agree with Michelle – the nursery was an absolute travesty and appeared to have nothing to do with a 6 month old baby. Did they talk to the parents at all? If someone designed a room like that for my 4 month old, I would be very unimpressed. The wallpaper print was quite cute, but what on earth was with the yellow walls and that woeful pendant light? However, on the plus side, no need to window shop at Beacon any more – you can just watch an ep of this show and see all their wares 🙂

  11. Loved this show, the concept is face paced and exciting, the designers yes they are a beautiful bunch but so what they act natural and do not do the cheesy gags like so many other shows do and fail.  This will be a success.

  13. You could really tell this was intended to air 5 nights a week. There was soo much happening, but everything was looked at so quickly it felt like I sat through an hour of nothing.

  15. All i will say is complete and utter waste of time. It will probably rate through the roof tonight but i expect a quick drop off. I have seen it all before and all nine are doing is recycling old ideas, AKA seven with Gladiators just to name one. Plus what was with all the advertising. It felt like one of those advertorials you see in those morning shows but these ones were 60 minutes. As for the bedrooms i cant believe they made one so cluttered and the kids ones were not even finished, although not surprised really there was very little team work. It was more everyone for themselves i thought.

  16. I reckon this series will get ratings of around 1.6 milion or higher and will continue to be ludicrously high before novelty wears off and it crashes and burns like Domestic Blitz, The Outdoor Room, Guerilla Gardeners, Battlefronts, and all those other million backyard renovation shows. As a stripped 7pm show I reckon it could have been a long-term solution for Nine over 2.5 men, but I don’t see it lasting for more than 1 season here.

  17. As a qualified interior decorator myself, naturally I was looking forward to watching homeMADE but I’m sorry to say I was left extremely dissapointed!
    I know it’s only the first episode but if a so called ‘professional’ can’t execute a 2 day reno on a simple bedroom then what hope is there for the rest of the house?!
    Were these ‘professional’ designers picked for their knowledge, experience and skill or their on camera appeal?
    Unless I missed something that didn’t make it to air, it looked like the designers were there to enforce their own grand plans rather than to work with the clients….what’s with shooting the gentleman down that had the burnt orange laquered wall hanging? Despite what the designer thought of it’s appearance it was not so hideous that it couldn’t be incorporated into the scheme surely? I disliked the nursery the most. So much so I liked it better pre-reno.The colourings would keep a baby up all night! The design guru was right…the pendant light did not harmonise with anything and the wallpaper! great for a 5 year old boy’s room, not a baby. Sorry.
    I must admitt I wll probably watch another episode, not for inspiration or as support for fellow designers but for the amusement of seeing the quality of work and designer that’s considered good enough to get on tv and represent designers as a whole.

  18. I have seen the first episode. Not only is there too much product placement, but too much of the sterotypical gay male. The three that I spotted, David, was by far the most annoying!! Sadly he won’t be voted off. It was queer eye renovation style.
    Some of the others appear quite competent, but some designers clearly need to learn how to communicate. I shall see how Tuesday show goes…..

  21. another round-up of white bread “beautiful” Aussies with guys with big muscles and girls with big teeth… *yawn*

    And with the whole product placement thing, less is more. When it’s in your face people just see it as a 60-minute commercial.

    Seems the Block guys are just one-idea wonders??

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